Not Entirely Sane
by lazyprincess
Summary: She was used to knowing all the answers, but waking up in a foreign room with everyone in the village suddenly different; Sakura had no answers to any of the questions that mattered.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the Naruto characters

Chapter One: Is this real?

She was used to waking up, wrapped in the comforts of soft sheets and the noises of her parents going through the usual morning activities from the other side of the wall, but the real tip that something was different was not the scratchy material of her blankets, nor hearing only the birds outside her window, it was the lack of warmth in her bedroom. Sakura shivered as she tried to catch some more minutes of sleep before getting ready for a day at the academy.

Slowly opening her eyes, she brushed back some pink hair from her face as she tried to check the time on the clock next to her nightstand, quickly realizing that this was not the room she had woken up in almost every morning since she had been born. Of course she had spent some nights at a friend's house, mostly Ino's, but she hadn't done that since she had entered the academy.

Trying to impress Sasuke, Sakura had spent most of her time studying to be the number one kunoichi in their class, this meant having little time for a social life. Her mother often worried that her daughter had become an outcast, but Sakura knew that eventually her time spent alone would be worth it when she and Sasuke became an item.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked herself looking around. Although only twelve, Sakura had been trained in stealth in order to become a ninja. In fact, Sakura was sure she would pass the genin exam in only two days time. Quickly taking in her surroundings Sakura grabbed the kunai under her pillow and slowly made her way to the door of the mysterious room where she had been lying.

The floor below her feet was not the usual soft carpet she had grown accustomed to, but cold tile that looked like it needed to be repaired in multiple areas. Trying to put her training to use, Sakura slowly tiptoed to the other side of the room which the door was firmly closed. She could only hope that the opening of the door would lead to answers of the questions in her head. "Where and why was she here? Where were her parents?"

Slowly opening the door, Sakura looked around. She noticed that she was alone in a fairly small apartment. There was a sparse amount, but well taken care of furniture in the main room that led into a small kitchen. The only other doors in the apartment led to a small bathroom and the front door.

Sakura could not figure out why she had been sleeping in this unfamiliar building without any memory of what had brought her here. The last thing she remembered was kissing her mother goodnight, reviewing the latest chapter in her textbook, and then going to sleep in her warm and cozy bed.

Making her way to the front door Sakura quickly looked around to make sure that there were no threats before stepping out of the apartment to figure out where she was. Instantly she realized she was still in Konoha, and also recognized the part of the village she was in but had not ventured in all too much. It was not the best place in the village, but it wasn't like there was crime everywhere either.

Confused, Sakura went back inside the apartment to see if she could get any information. She started opening the drawers in the bedroom finding very little of anything inside.

There were two sets of clothing in the dresser and a few weapons, scrolls, and a small wallet on the nightstand. Only a few bills and a small amount of coins fell out of the wallet. "There's no identification, nor any information to which this apartment belongs to." Sakura muttered to herself. "What am I going to do now?" Sakura was worried about these strange occurrences, but decided to go home and see what was up, before it was time to head to the academy.

Realizing that she was only in night clothes, Sakura uneasily borrowed some of the clothes in the dresser, noticing how most of the clothing fit surprisingly well, but the shirt was a little larger than she liked. "At least the color of the outfit is nice." Sakura commented on the reddish hue of her shirt. Slipping on the sandals next to the door, Sakura made her way out of the apartment and in the direction of her home.

Passing the grocery store on the corner by her house, Sakura made her way to the front door of the home she had grown up in. The building was exactly the same as usual, but there was something off about the home. Taking in her surroundings, Sakura realized that the landscaping was a little different than she remembered.

Her mother loved pansies, and gardened plots of them parallel with the walkway. The small bit of lawn was in nice shape, but missing the plants she had always walked by on her way to the front door. Frowning slightly, Sakura was soon standing on her porch and hesitantly knocked on the front door. There was some stirring in the house, and Sakura could make out the murmuring of a person on the other side of the door. As the door opened, Sakura was surprised that some strange old man was on the other side peeking at her with irritated eyes. "Well, what could you possibly want at this ungodly hour?" inquired the stranger. "Um," Sakura began to murmur, "Are the Harunos here?" she asked, hesitant to know the answer. "Never heard of them," yelled the man before quickly slamming the door in her face.

Sakura held back the tears that were threatening to fall as she contemplated her next move. "I don't understand what's going on. Where are my parents? Why is this strange man in my house?" The only option Sakura thought was to go to the academy. The teachers there would know what to do, plus seeing Sasuke had always made her feel better. She needed some normalcy from the disturbing morning.

Sakura quickly made her way to the academy, noticing how the village looked the same as it always did. She did not notice any major differences from her daily morning walk as she almost ran to the academy. Now standing in front of the large doors that led to hopefully answers, Sakura noticed that she was earlier than usual, and wouldn't be able to talk to Iruka-sensei for another twenty minutes or so. Making her way to class, Sakura sat down in a seat next to the one Sasuke usually occupied. "Hopefully he won't change his mind once he gets here."

Fidgeting in her seat, Sakura quickly looked up when the door opened and someone she did not recognize entered the room. The boy looked to be around her age, with spiky brown hair, almost defying gravity. He wore a bright yellow sleeveless shirt, with black shorts. There was something about this boy that seemed familiar, yet Sakura was sure she would have recognized the strange eyes the boy had. The eyes were red without pupils. There seemed to be a pattern of octagons throughout his irises. She also noted that there seemed to be small holes all over his body, three on his face.

"Excuse me, um my name is Haruno Sakura, and I was wondering if you could tell me why you are in this class? This is the classroom where Iruka-sensei teaches, right?" The boy looked at her funny, "Haruno-san, are you alright? Of course this is the classroom where Iruka-sensei is teaching, and I've always been in your class. You know, Aburame Shino?" The boy asked. "Shino?" Sakura exclaimed surprised. "Well you have to know how surprised everyone will be with you dressed like that. You worried me there for a second. There have been some weird things going on this morning." But Shino continued to give her a funny look. "Are you feeling alright Haruno-san? I've been wearing this outfit for some time now and no one has commented or gave me any trouble over it."

Sakura didn't know how to react in this situation. "This was the same Shino who covered up almost every part of his body with a large coat and sunglasses?" she asked herself. It was almost as if Shino had made a complete one-eighty change in his personality. Sakura never remembered Shino talking this much at once, or even saying this much period. This day just kept getting weirder.

Sakura had hoped that this was a dream, but knew that was not very probable. Figuring that Shino could not help her figure out this weird occurrence, she hoped that the next person would not find this situation normal, and could help her figure out what was going on.

To her surprise, Naruto was the next one to enter the classroom. Discreetly studying him, Sakura was relieved that she could find no differences in his appearance. "Naruto, how rare of you to show up early to class, usually Iruka-sensei has to drag you here." Sakura commented as Naruto took a seat a row in front of her. Quickly turning around, Naruto gave her the nastiest sneer she had ever seen on his face. "What the hell are you blabbing about you stupid whore? When have I ever been late to class? You are getting stupider by the minute, it seems like your big forehead is good for nothing." Opening her mouth in shock, Sakura could not imagine that had come out of Naruto's mouth. Usually the idiot was bugging for a date, and had never insulted her, especially her looks before. "Aww is the little baby gonna cry now?" Naruto mockingly asked before turning back in his seat to ignore her.

Sakura really did want to cry right then and there, but didn't want this weird acting Naruto having the satisfaction of seeing her upset by his words. They weren't much different from what Ino always spouted and it never really bothered her before, but coming from Naruto was almost too much.

As the class started to fill up, Sakura noticed that many of her classmates were slightly different from the usual, and knew that she would not get answers from any of them. She did not have much faith in Iruka-sensei knowing answers, since everyone she had encountered today was different. "I don't know what to do. I can only think of going through the day as I normally would, while trying to figure out what has happened. I wonder if I'm going insane…maybe the stress of the genin exams is getting to me." Sakura thought of different scenarios that could have caused this change in her life, but nothing made sense enough to explain everything, not that she thought anything would.

Four minutes before class was to start, Sakura noticed Ino walking in. "What happened to your hair Ino?" Sakura couldn't help but ask, even though she had already decided not to ask anyone anymore questions. Everything about Ino looked normal, except her usual long ponytail was cut short and was left hanging loose to her chin. "What?" Ino asked, eyes widening, "Is there something in my hair? If that little snot I passed in the hall put gum in it, I swear he will never make it to genin!" Ino exclaimed while frantically checking her hair.

"Sorry Ino, I didn't mean to give you a panic, I was just surprised you had cut it so short." Sakura blushed when everyone gave her a strange glance. "Um, Sakura, I have never grown my hair out." Ino said before making her way to the empty seat next to Sakura. "You must have had a weird dream or something."

Sakura was embarrassed that she had shouted in front of a whole class that must think she was going crazy. But she didn't know how to explain all the events around her. How did she know she wasn't going crazy? She was glad that Sasuke hadn't been there to witness this embarrassing ordeal, but then realized that Sasuke would probably have changed in this strange reality she was living through. She didn't know how right she was until he walked into the room with a bright smile on his usually stoic face.

AN:

Well that's it for right now….I know it's not a very good ending of a chapter, but I was kind of sick of writing haha….

This was just a random thought that popped into my head and I figured that I haven't tried to write anything in a long time so I might as well hahaa…..yeah I don't know why its centered around Sakura, I don't even like her that much, but I figured that this idea went best in her POV….hopefully I'm right hahaha….(I bet you are sick of the hahas :D)

Well thanks for reading…I would appreciate reviews and I hope to get the next chapter out in a week or so…not sure if I'm going to be a weekly update kind of gal or every two weeks…of course I'm being optimistic right now hahaha…hopefully that's how I will start updating :D


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the Acacia Creek apartment complex (I wonder if I have to put that? Oh well it's already done….)

Chapter Two: Who's the dumb one?

Sakura could not help but be disappointed as Sasuke walked into the classroom. She had concluded he may act different since everyone else seemed to, but this was Sasuke, he was supposed to be able to overcome everything, even this weird world she had woken up in.

As she looked into his smiling face Sakura could not help the mixed emotions surfacing. He was as good looking as ever and she had always dreamed of making him smile like that. Sakura held her breath as Sasuke made his way to the open seat next to her. She knew it had been a good idea to sit here.

Sakura realized that no one had challenged her for this spot. Ino had just sat quietly in the seat next to her, not arguing about who would sit next to Sasuke. They were usually fighting the instant they saw each other.

"I can use this," Sakura realized, "Maybe no one is interested in Sasuke and I will be able to make my move on him."

As Sasuke walked closer, Sakura felt hurt when he winked at Ino. "So I guess this means you are going out with Sasuke," Sakura inquired to the blonde girl next to her. Ino laughed, "Sakura what's wrong with you? You know Sasuke is open to all the girls. He has about five girlfriends right now."

Shocked, Sakura wondered how the boy who spent all his time ignoring every girl that approached him have relationships with five different girls. "You mean that the girls don't mind that Sasuke has multiple relationships?" She asked Ino. "Ha ha are you kidding? Everyone wants a piece of Sasuke. What? Don't tell me you are going to join the Sasuke fan club now. We've been in the academy for years and you never held any interest in him before." Ino glanced questioningly at Sakura.

"So you are finally gonna leave me alone eh dumbass?" Naruto asked, turning around in his chair. "What? As if I could ever like you," Sakura sputtered in disbelief. "Ha then what was with your repeated pathetic attempts to get me to go out with you in the past," Naruto spat back, "I don't know why you think I would ever consider such an ugly dumb shit like you."

Sakura could not believe the things she was hearing. Not always been in love with in Sasuke? Having a crush on Naruto! That could never happen. She had always been faithful to Sasuke. They were meant for each other.

Iruka briskly walked into the room which quickly quieted down in his presence. Sakura noted he looked almost identical to what she remembered; he wore the same hairstyle and clothing as he usually did. Looking at his face, Sakura could immediately see the familiar scar across Iruka's nose but there was something in his eyes that were different to her.

She could tell that this was not the same man who had kindly guided the children all those years at the academy; he seemed to be more cold and distant than the friendly man she recalled.

"I was right, the teachers won't know anything. I wonder if I should try the Hokage." Sakura thought as class started, but she was not able to let her thoughts wander for long as a shuriken came hurtling towards her.

Dodging the weapon in confusion, Sakura was surprised that Iruka had been the one to attack her.

"Haruno-san, I would appreciate it if you would listen to my lecture instead of daydreaming. Should you not pay attention in battle, I assure you, you will die." Iruka stated without any remorse that he could have injured her.

Sakura was shocked. She had never seen a teacher act this way in the classroom. The Iruka she knew would have never tried to harm a student.

Returning to her seat, Sakura ducked her head at the weird glance from Ino, and the sneer from Naruto. She tried to discreetly peek at Sasuke and was relieved that he only smiled at her.

Figuring that the best plan at the moment was to act normal, Sakura was comfortable with listening to the lesson. She was not the smartest kunoichi in her class for nothing. She was sure that all of her extra studying would help her out in this situation, but her confidence quickly turned into confusion as she listened to Iruka's lecture.

He was spouting the most advanced theory she had ever heard. Sakura could not even comprehend half of what he was speaking. She could not help but want to laugh at the absurdity of this lesson. If she, the highest ranked test taker of her class could not understand his lecture, how would the rest of the class fair?

She glanced over to Ino diligently taking notes, as was Sasuke beside her. Looking at Naruto, she was surprised that he was also able to note down everything Iruka was saying with seemingly no problems.

"Excuse me sensei, but I don't understand how you can expect us to know this. This is high level chunin material. It's ridiculous to assume we will know any of the stuff you are talking about." Sakura exclaimed.

Snorting, Naruto once again gave her a demeaning sneer. "Of course an idiot like you would not be able to follow the curriculum. Some of us actually use our brains and can follow quite fine in class. In fact, I'm pretty sure you are the only one here who is too much of a dumb ass to understand."

"I have to agree with Uzumaki-san," Iruka piped in, "I believe a detention is in order Haruno-san. You obviously haven't done any of last night's assignments. Hopefully you will be able to understand enough to pass the genin exam in a couple of days. My only relief is that no matter if you pass or fail, you will no longer be in the position to bother me."

Sakura could not believe this was happening to her. In all her years at the academy she had never misbehaved enough to receive a detention. What was going on?

As if detention was not bad enough, Sakura found that she had forgotten to bring her bento as lunch started. Depressed after realizing her mom always packed her lunches Sakura thought she might as well get some answers in her free time.

Turning to Ino, Sakura wondered how she should bring this up. How do you ask someone where are my parents without looking like a complete lunatic?

"Um Ino, I know this may sound weird, but I was wondering if you know where I live." Sakura asked. "Yes it is a weird question, but I guess I will go along with your weirdness since you have been acting so strange today," Ino commented as she took another bite of her lunch, "You live in room eight of the Acacia Creek apartment complex."

"Well that answers the question why am I in this apartment," Sakura thought to herself. "Now if only I could discretely ask about my parents. I guess I will have to wait to ask the Hokage."

It was surprising to see that everyone immediately returned to the classroom as soon as lunch was over. Sakura noticed that this Iruka must be stricter than the Iruka she knew.

Dreading the detention looming closer as the time passed Sakura could only hope she was imagining the punishment to be worse than it would be. She remembered that Naruto had to clean the chalk erasers and tasks like that in his detentions, but this Iruka looked like he would have a harsher punishment in store.

Sakura would have never guessed that this one little detention would eventually save her life.

AN:

Well I'm sorry that this chapter is shorter…but I have still yet to get a review…no motivation at all hahaha no not really…I just am an impatient person so I want to update and update as soon as I've written a sentence hahaha…maybe not that impatient but you get what I mean…I'm trying my best to actually take a few days to review my work…hopefully I will get better at this

Thanks for reading :D


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.

Chapter Three: What day is it?

Sakura bit her lip as she glanced at the clock for the twenty-second time of the day. She was so nervous about her detention she could not focus on anything else. Sakura kept praying for some miracle to appear to get her out of her predicament but knew that she would eventually have to face her punishment.

Dread filled Sakura as the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. She could only fidget in her seat as the rest of the class rushed to get out of the door. Contemplating on what Iruka would make her do Sakura quietly made her way to the teacher's desk.

"Although we have been in this situation more times than I care to remember you still do not respect the fact that you have to work to pass. I know it is hard for you to understand, but this work is for your own benefit," Iruka lectured while organizing the papers on his desk. "I would rather not be stuck grading worthless answers from stupid kids who do not have the proper mental capacity to carry an intelligent conversation, yet here I am, accomplishing this feat despite my reluctance to do so.

Sakura could only stand in shock as Iruka lectured to her about the importance of work. Lecturing Sakura Haruno? A student who had never missed a day of school and turned in all of the assignments in on time. How could she have received more than this one detention?

Whatever world she had woken up in was turning out to be a horrible place.

"Ah, I see that I continue to bore you even when discussing your future," Iruka drawled. "I had hoped that you would have the brains to listen right before your genin test, but my hopes were apparently in vain. Since I have concluded in class that you have not brought the required text to today's lesson, you may borrow one from that shelf over there and rewrite all of it as your punishment. Hopefully doing so will help you learn the entire curriculum, but I highly doubt that you will be able to follow past the first page. Good luck, I will be back in a few hours time to note your progress."

Sakura was left alone speechless. This detention may have been far safer than what her imagination had produced, but copying the entire curriculum in a small amount of time was impossible.

Turning to the shelf, Sakura took out one of the three identical texts available and started on her task. Going into study mode, she quickly analyzed information page by page and began copying the work as she had been assigned.

Although the work was difficult, by following the text Sakura was able to eventually understand everything she was copying. Time escaped her as she worked until her hand started to cramp. Glancing at what she accomplished Sakura could only groan at how much work was still left.

Hearing the door open Sakura looked up expecting to see Iruka check up on her progress. She was surprised to see instead a man she did not recognize step into the room. The man was dressed funny because he had most of his face covered by a mask and his forehead protector covered one of his eyes. His hair was a silver color that seemed to defy gravity, sticking practically straight up from his head. Sakura assumed he was jounin rank from his attire but could not be entirely certain.

"Ah," the man exclaimed after looking into the classroom. "I must be really late if you are the only one left. Oh, well this is weird. Why is there only one?" The man started muttering to himself. "Excuse me girl. Where are your teammates?"

Sakura knew that this man had to be insane. He kept muttering to himself and seemed to expect things of her. "Um, I'm sorry but I don't understand what you are getting at," Sakura answered. The man's only visible eye seemed to soften as he studied her. "Oh, I'm sorry for bringing up such a sore topic for you." He said softly.

Sakura started to think that maybe she was the one going crazy. First she woke up in a strange apartment that she had never seen before. After going to class, she could see major differences in everyone she had grown up with, but no one else seemed to think weird. Now a crazy man barged into the classroom without making any sense.

"Excuse me, but I don't understand what would be such a sore topic for me." Sakura inquired, wanting to get rid of her confusion. The man seemed reluctant to go on but eventually replied, "You failed the genin test right? That's why you don't have a forehead protector or any teammates. But it's weird that you are the only person here. I know I am late, but my team should have waited for me to pick them up."

Sakura could only stare at the man in disbelief. This was a genin instructor? A man who showed up days early to pick up his team without realizing it. In fact, he believed he was late! Sakura felt sorry for whoever got stuck with him.

"I know that this may sound weird but the genin test isn't for another two days." Sakura answered as politely as possible. After rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, the man thanked her and left Sakura to finish her work. Looking at her progress, Sakura knew that the man had set her back quite a bit. Sighing softly, Sakura once again started copying down the information hoping that Iruka would be satisfied when he returned.

A/N: Well I know that this is longer than I promised to update but my computer was freaking out on me and would not work. I am not the kind of person to write with paper so I had to wait until my computer was fixed. :D I know that this is an even shorter chapter but I thought that this was a pretty good place to end. I had a hard time coming up with something for the detention but I needed Sakura to be brought up to date on all the school work. Next chapter will go more into detail about the work and actually have more of a plotline. Sorry for taking so long and thanks for reading :D. I promise I will make the next chapter longer and update sooner. Now that I've actually promised it in text I will actually motivate myself to make a long chapter. Thanks again for reading…until next time -LP


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the Acacia Creek apartment complex.

Chapter Four: Why me?

Sakura had a hard time comprehending the fact that she could comprehend all the material she was currently copying down. In just a short amount of time, if writing five hours straight consisted of short, she had learned over half of the advanced material in the text that she knew would have taken her years to learn if she was in her old world. She had started defining this day as "new world" and her life previously as "old world"; she did not know what else to call it at the moment.

Although the concepts were difficult, Sakura was beginning to make sense of the new information she had been cramming into her brain. Most of the theory would have to be practiced to get any merit from the text, but she knew she had learned enough to have improved every basic skill she had previously learned.

Because she was the first of her family to aspire to become a ninja, Sakura's taijustu was exclusively the academy style. The text had taught her how to use the style much more effectively than she had practiced in the years she had attended. Sakura knew that she would have to train, knowledge that she had rarely put into use in her old world, due to focusing primarily on book smarts and winning over Sasuke. Sakura did not know how long she would be stuck in this weird world, but made up her mind to make the most of it. With all this information at her disposal she was determined to become better.

"The lack of progress you have made would have been disappointing if any other student was assigned the task, but I guess I should be relieved you are actually taking this seriously," Iruka commented as he walked into the classroom.

Sakura thought it unfair that he barley glanced at her work before he had insulted her, but she knew that this was the best she was going to get. Turning back to her work, Sakura hoped that her punishment would end soon so she could go talk to the Hokage. She hoped that the late time would not deter her from seeing the Hokage and he would be able to answer the many questions swimming in her head.

Unfortunately she had forgotten that this Iruka was not as nice as her old world Iruka; he gave her no such relief from the detention he had assigned. "Although I am required to teach and discipline the young that walk through my doors, I am in no way responsible for any extra time out of the classroom that you may need. You may not leave until you are finished copying down the whole text. Hopefully you will be done before class starts tomorrow. I will now take my leave."

Sakura was frustrated and could only glare at Iruka's back as he left the room. She could not believe that she was in such an unfair predicament. Knowing that she could never go against a teacher's orders, Sakura continued her punishment.

It was almost two in the morning by the time Sakura was finished copying all of the text. She was tired and grumpy but also happy that she had finally accomplished her task, plus had learned a great deal in the process.

Leaving the academy Sakura was relieved that she knew where her new world apartment was. She congratulated herself in asking Ino the question of where she lived earlier and had stored the information for later use. It would only be the cherry on top of the cake if she had forgotten which apartment she lived in and had to find a place to sleep. Finding the Acacia Creek apartment complex fairly quickly, Sakura made her way inside and immediately collapsed on her bed. Not forgetting to set her alarm, Sakura sighed contently and shut her eyes for the much needed sleep. Even the scratchy sheets could not keep her awake as Sakura quickly entered the dream world.

* * *

The next morning had Sakura blurry eyed and disoriented. She had hoped that she had imagined the craziness of yesterday and would wake up as usual in her room she had grown up in, but not immediately recognizing her surroundings, Sakura knew that she was currently what she had dubbed the new world.

Getting ready for the day's lesson at the academy Sakura made her way to the bathroom. After her usual morning ritual she went into the kitchen to make a small breakfast before she had to get going.

The journey to the academy was much the same as the day before without the detour to her home. Without the feeling of panic she had experienced yesterday, Sakura was able to enjoy the short walk to the academy and prepare herself for what was to come for the day.

Sakura did not know what Iruka had left to teach the last day before the genin exams, but was glad that she had gone over the entire curriculum and would hopefully be able to understand everything in today's lecture. She also thought of how she would bring up her problem with the Hokage without seeming crazy. It never occurred to Sakura to skip the lecture in order to make sure she would be able to reach the Hokage. She was almost programmed in the aspect that every day of school was important, a reason she had never skipped a day in the past.

Sakura had left the apartment in good time, but not as early as the previous day and was not the first in the class when she arrived. Shino in his weird getup was already there, as were a few others.

Sakura tried to hide her surprise as she used the free time before class started to observe her "new" classmates.

At the very back of the room sat a Hyuuga, who could only be Hinata, as she was the only Hyuuga of their age. The only problem was that Sakura could not comprehend that the girl sitting there was Hinata. The eyes of course were no different than she remembered, but the girl had an air of smug confidence that rivaled that of her old Sasuke.

Other than Shino's appearance and Hinata's personality, Sakura did not notice many other differences in the others currently in the classroom. Keeping to herself Sakura hoped that she was not the crazy one after all.

It made sense that since she was the only one noticing the difference of this new world to her old one that there was something wrong with her, but Sakura seriously doubted that she could make up another reality on the spur of the moment.

Sakura smiled at Ino as the other girl made her way to the empty seat next to her. She hoped that Ino would not be too interested in her strange behavior the previous day and would focus on the genin test nearing.

Surprised at her luck, Sakura tried to listen when Ino did not mention the activities of the day before, and instead started talking about some rare flowers that came into the shop yesterday, but with the lack of sleep she had gotten it was hard to give her complete attention to the subject.

The class started filling up more quickly as the time for the start of class loomed nearer. Sakura noted that the seating arrangement was practically the same as before when Naruto again picked the seat in front of her. The detention she had received had temporarily distracted her from what she had learned about her relationship with the boy, but now she realized the predicament she was in.

Sakura concluded that the smart thing to do would be to ignore how she had acted in the past in this new world and go on with her business, but the fact that she had tried to go out with Naruto bugged her to no end. The fool was the one who had a crush on her! Not the other way around.

Sasuke quickly made his way into the room as the bell rang, beating Iruka by a few seconds. Looking around he took the seat by the window that Sakura had saved for him. Again as he passed her, he gave her that charming smile that made her legs feel like jelly. She knew that with Sasuke around she could never love another, especially not Naruto.

Her musings were quickly interrupted as Iruka started his announcement. "You may think it unfair that I teach you anything you may need for the genin exam the day before the exam is given. I have to agree that that plan would be unfair to me as I would have to take extra time to make sure you understood the material. Instead I have come up with a written test over the entire curriculum. This is the pre-genin exam to eliminate those I find unworthy to take the real test. The three students who receive the lowest marks will automatically fail the genin test. Time is not considered in the score; if you happen to finish in five minutes or three hours is up to you. I find that this is not unreasonable because all of you should have complete understanding of the material and should all get perfect marks. Of course if that should happen, I will allow all of you to take the exam tomorrow."

Iruka began to pass out the test papers as the class gave him looks of disbelief. A pre-genin test? They had never heard of such a thing.

Sakura bit her lip as she considered how she would do. Hopefully all the work she had put into her detention would come in handy. She was glad that she had stuck through the whole thing and made sure she understood every concept.

"We all know who is going to get the worst grade in class," Naruto's scathingly commented as he glanced over at her. Before she could retort back, her attention turned to the test paper that had been placed in front of her. Mentally wishing herself good luck Sakura scanned the front page of the test.

Although still difficult Sakura was happy to see that she had learned everything on the test the day before. In two hours time Sakura was relieved to be done with the test. She only hoped that she did well enough to still be able to take the genin exam.

Walking out of the academy Sakura thought of her plan of action. How would she confront the Hokage about her problem? Making her way towards the tower she mentally prepared herself for what was to come. The probable outcome would be that her did not believe her and would send her on her merry way back home.

Sakura was still not sure what she was going to say as she made her way to the Hokage's office, but was hoping for a miracle. He had to believe her; she didn't know what else to do.

The person manning the desk told Sakura that the Hokage would be free in a few minutes and would call her in when he was ready. Fidgeting in her seat, Sakura could not help but be nervous about this whole ordeal. Her old world Hokage had always been nice and understanding. What if this new world Hokage was strict and mean? She had to handle this very carefully to get the results that she was hoping for.

After sitting for the shortest three minutes of her life, the Hokage called her in. Sakura hesitantly stepped into his office, still confused about how to bring the subject up. Knowing that she would have to eventually get to the point of her visit Sakura decided that she should be very straight forward about the subject.

Down to his hat and pipe, the Hokage looked exactly as she remembered in her old world. Hoping that his personality did not change, Sakura made her way in front of the desk where he sat.

"How may I help you child?" The Hokage asked as he looked up from his paperwork.

Sakura swallowed nervously before answering. "Excuse me Hokage-sama, but I have a problem. I know this may sound weird and crazy but I hope that you would hear me out and try to believe what I have to say is true."

The Hokage sat back in his seat after signing a document to give her his full attention. He didn't know what to expect from this pink haired girl that claimed she was not crazy.

Sakura began telling her story of what had happened the day before, starting with waking up in a weird room she did not recognize. The Hokage did not stir as she recounted her entire tale up until walking into his office. After she was done, he continued to stare at her as he thought over her story.

It was nerve-wracking for Sakura to wait for the Hokage's reaction. Her hopes were dashed at a solution being formed when he burst into laughter. She could not help the slight pink blush forming as he laughed for a good five minutes.

"I have not laughed like that in quite some time," the Hokage stated, wiping tears from his eyes, "If you are quite done, I have work to finish."

Sakura knew a dismissal when she heard one. She only hoped that she would be able to find a solution soon. Now that she knew that the Hokage could not help her she figured that the library might have some answers. Sakura knew that the library exclusively for ninjas would be helpful in her research, and only hoped that she would be granted access when she earned her headband the next day.

Making her way back to her apartment, Sakura decided she would practice some of her improved taijustu forms. Hopefully she would be ready for the genin test tomorrow. Sakura knew that she would be working hard. Motivation to aspire to get better was something she needed in the physical department. Someway, somehow she was going to get back to her old world. She only hoped that it was sooner than later.

A/N: Ok this is only slightly longer than the first chapter but it is still longer, which means I have kept my promise :D I hope to keep each chapter around this length or more as I continue writing. The good thing is that I am actually developing a plot instead of just an idea that popped into my head. I know I should take more time to write each chapter (depth not really time) but I have always been really impatient. I'm just glad I am able to keep dishing it out at the moment. I hope you enjoyed the chapter…Thanks for reading :D Next chapter will include the genin test and the team assignments. -LP


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter Five: Just my Luck

Sakura was nervous as she made her way to the academy, hopefully the last time as a civilian. Today was the big day; the genin exams. This was the beginning of her career as a real shinobi, she could not mess this up. Sakura could not help the doubt and panic that she was feeling over the upcoming exam. If this was her old world she was positive that she would pass with ease. Unfortunately she was stuck in this unfamiliar place with unfamiliar tests. Sakura was not as confident as she had hoped to be.

Although she had pushed herself in training yesterday, Sakura could not help but feel that a few hours of work the day before the exam were not going to get her anywhere. She noticed that she had improved from the knowledge she had gained in her detention but would have wanted more time to study and practice; much more time.

Pushing the doubts out of her head Sakura knew she had to believe in herself because there was not much more she could do twenty minutes before the exam. This bit of information did nothing to help her nerves but allowed her to keep her head. It would be embarrassing if she let her nerves distract her from completing the exam, thus proving Iruka correct on his previous observations on her stupidity.

Making her way to her seat Sakura hoped that she had not let her thoughts distract her from the time, since many of the students were already in their seats. Checking the time, Sakura concluded that everyone must be as nervous as she to have come to class earlier than normal.

Ino was diligently studying her notes when Sakura sat beside the blond, noticing that both Sasuke and Naruto were not yet present. "Good luck Ino. I know you probably won't need it, but I'll say it anyway," Sakura said trying to calm herself. "Thanks Sakura. Good luck to you too. I don't mean to be rude but you may need some," Ino chuckled.

Sakura did not take Ino's comment to heart as she knew that this world viewed her as incompetent. She would only have to prove them wrong by passing the genin exam. Sakura prayed that she would not mess this up. Not only was her pride on the line, but also the rest of her life. She was not sure if she could live in this weird place for much longer.

It was strange living this different life. Ino was a good friend, one of the only things Sakura would miss when she got back to her old world. She would make sure to patch up their friendship right away. Sakura did not know what to think of this Sasuke. He was nice to her, which was a welcome change, but he was not the Sasuke she had fallen in love with. It was weird to see the same person act so differently. Although he was nice, he lacked the mysterious and cool attitude that was her old Sasuke. She was not sure if she liked this Sasuke more of less than the original. Naruto of course was an unwelcome change. Sakura could not wait to be rid of the jerk who took pleasure in putting her down. She made up her mind to not take her old Naruto for granted, even if he was super annoying.

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted when said boy strolled into the room. Of course it wasn't exactly the Naruto she was thinking of, this was the Naruto she had to deal with at the moment. She prayed that if they both passed the genin exam that they would be on separate teams.

"I'm surprised you actually showed to the test dumb shit. I'm sure you were last place on yesterday's pre-genin exam. You should have just skipped the exam to save you some embarrassment. You're just wasting Iruka's time," exclaimed Naruto, sitting himself down again in the seat in front of Sakura.

Willing herself to ignore him Sakura tried to focus on the test. The distraction did not last long as Naruto continued to insult her. Unable to take the abuse any longer Sakura punched him right in the nose.

The satisfaction Sakura felt quickly turned to nervousness at the reaction of her peers. Punching Naruto was a reflex to her in her old world that had transferred to this new world. She had tried to keep it in check the last couple of days because she did not know how this Naruto would react. It seemed the reaction the rest of the class had, by staring at her in disbelieving horror, hinted that she had made a big mistake.

Nervously, Sakura glanced at Naruto who had fallen out of his chair. The first thing she noticed about him was not the blood trickling from his nose, but the murderous glare he was giving her. His eyes! The usual sky blue color had turned into a bloody read that gave her the chills. He looked like a beast with his whisker like marks more defined on his face.

Sakura was too late in noticing the rest of the class retreating to the door of the classroom. "Ino, what's going on?" she tried to whisper to the girl next to her, only to realize that there was no one beside her. As soon as she had lashed out at the blond boy, Ino had quickly made a dash to the other side of the room. Sakura was now the only dumb one near the demon.

What Sakura did not realize was that in this reality everyone knew of the demon that was sealed into Naruto. Unlike her old world, Naruto was not a pushover who allowed the mean comments to slide. He was not the kind of monster that liked to kill everything in sight, but did not take abuse when given. His classmates were civil around him but wary of his wrath. They knew they did not have anything to fear as long as he was left alone. This made finding friends for Naruto slightly difficult, but there had always been a few of his classmates who thought as long as they did not bother him they were not going to get their heads ripped off. Of course they would never think to punch Naruto right in the face. If they did not think Sakura was an idiot before, they certainly did now.

Sakura was confused. This was the most confusing occurrence of this whole confusing ordeal. Everyone was scared of Naruto; the idiot who could not even produce one passable bushin? How was this possible? Sakura's confusion quickly turned into unease then to fear. So far Naruto had just been glaring at her but she could feel his anger. No wait! Sakura amazedly realized that she could feel and see his chakra.

It took a moment for Sakura to realize that she could no longer breathe. Eyes widening, she realized that Naruto had moved faster than she could blink, and was currently holding her up by the neck. "I should kill you for what you did to my face," Naruto growled, "but I'm impressed that you managed to take me by surprise. I have decided to spare you. Do not mistake this as being lenient. I will not hesitate to kill you another time."

With that, Naruto threw Sakura at the wall. The throw was not too forceful, but knocked the little air left out of her. It took Sakura a moment to be able to move; immediately she started gulping for precious oxygen. Not caring about her rumpled look, Sakura quietly made her way back to her seat. Naruto sitting in front of her took no notice. Studying him, Sakura saw that he looked no different than he normally did. His eyes were now blue and his whisker like marks were back to normal.

Had she just imagined the last three minutes that transpired? Sakura knew that there was something she was missing, but was too afraid to go into it. Hopefully she would get some answers, but for now she was just glad she was alive and relatively unhurt.

All of the students that had fled earlier and the remaining stragglers that had just arrived made their way back into the classroom as the bell rung. Sasuke once again sat beside her, but reflected the nervousness of the rest of the students because of the genin exam. Her old Sasuke would look as cool as usual, not nervous like a normal student. Ino had also made her way back into her seat, once again studying her notes. Sakura did not even want to bring up what had happened moments earlier, but could not help but be curious. Sakura had so many questions about this new world, she did not know if she would remember all of them, but at the moment the genin exam was more important.

Everyone paid strict attention to the front of the classroom as Iruka walked in. He could not wait for the day to be over. In just a few hours time he would be rid of the annoying students of this class. Of all the classes he had taught this one had been his absolute worst.

"I was expecting all of you to be able to take a chance at the genin exam in order to determine if any of you are ready to be shinobi," Iruka said looking up at the class, "unfortunately the whole class was far from getting perfect scores. The only three students who had accomplished this feat were Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uzumaki Naruto. This is by far the worst class I have ever had the misfortune to teach. I am happy to fail three of you right now so that I will save you from sad pathetic deaths that I know would occur should you have passed. The three that have failed are Arata Daisuke, Itou Mayumi, and Suzuki Chiyo. You should thank me for saving your lives. Please leave the classroom now."

"You must have cheated a lot off my paper. There's no way your shit ass brain would have been able to know any of the questions on the test," Naruto commented without looking at Sakura, but Sakura knew he was referring to her. Usually this sort of taunting would provoke Sakura to argue back, but after he had attacked her, Sakura was not too keen on being on Naruto's bad side.

"Hopefully only the competent are left," Iruka continued, "as now the genin test will begin. Unfortunately the test has been the same for years and does not test your skills at all. You will be required to make three functional bushin. That is all. Please demonstrate this ability when I call your name."

One by one the students went to the front of the classroom as Iruka called their name. Each student was easily able to make the three bushin and pass the genin exam. Sakura could not help but feel that this was some joke. After all the hassle she had went through to complete that awful detention, this is what the test consisted of? This was to see if they were ready to become shinobi? Sakura almost wanted to laugh, if she had not found this so pitiful.

After all the students had passed Iruka explained that he would be putting them on teams and they were to meet their new sensei. Sakura barley listened as Iruka called out the teams, still not believing if this was real. She should feel excited that she was now a genin but the only feelings she had were of disappointment. How could she feel proud when she had not accomplished anything? They should have been able to make three bushin a year ago. What had been the point of this last year?

"Team seven will consist of the jounin Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura," Iruka announced. "Team eight will…"

Sakura could not believe her luck. If this world had not previously been out to get her, she knew that it was now. Fate must be laughing at her. She should be jumping for joy that she was a part of Sasuke's team, but instead she was horrified that she was on Naruto's team. "This is not happening. This is not happening," Sakura kept murmuring to herself. But as the rest of the teams were formed, Sakura knew that there was no mistake. This was actually happening.

A/N: Well this was not the best chapter ever but it was needed to develop the story. Hopefully you all enjoyed it. It took me longer to write this than I had wanted but this is a busy time for me plus I was really lazy. I'm goin back to school on Monday…but this story does not really take up too much of my time so I'm thinkin that the time in-between chapters are not going to be much different than they are at the moment. I'm really glad that Sakura is finally out of the classroom. I kept asking myself why I put that many days in-between the genin exam and the first day she arrived in the new world, but it's finally over and I can get on with the story. Thanks again for reading…I appreciate reviews (thanks VALLED for your support :D) until next time -LP


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